5 last-minute Valentine's Day ideas that skip the fancy restaurants
Zoom in: Since the holiday falls on a Friday this year, romantic restaurant reservations can be expensive or hard to come by, but you can still treat your loved one to something special.
Here's a roundup of some last minute ideas that won't break the bank.
🚣♂️ Take a boat ride in Stow Lake:
Pedal or row across this charming little lake in Golden Gate Park and catch sight of its small waterfall and Chinese pavilion. Rentals are first-come, first-served and start at $26.
For a small additional fee, you can also bring your pup. Open from 10am- 4:30pm Friday and Saturday. Located at 50 Blue Heron Lake Dr.
🌅 Head to a view spot
San Francisco is spoiled by picturesque vantage points to take in the sights while maybe doing a little canoodling.
Corona Heights Park has stunning views of the city skyline.
Crissy Field near the Marina is the perfect place for a picnic with scenic views of the Golden Gate Bridge along the shore.
Bernal Heights Park in the city's southeastern side has panoramic views of downtown and the hills of the East Bay.
Sutro Heights, located at the westernmost point of Lands End on the former site of Sutro Baths, is one of the most beautiful places to watch the sunset with views of Ocean Beach.
🎵 Bathe yourself in sound:
Forge an auditory connection with your partner with an evening sound bath at Haum in the Mission, complete with a restorative yoga session. From 6:15 - 7:30pm. Tickets start at $40. Located on the fifth floor at 2973 16th St.
👾 Play games at an arcade bar
Whether you prefer video games or table games, the city's many arcade bars are a great option for couples looking to have an evening packed with booze and some playful competition. Our favorites include Emporium on Divisadero and The Detour in the Castro.
🎭 See a sultry cabaret show
AfterDark by the pole athlete Pink Puma combines acrobatics, cabaret, burlesque, and aerial art for a unique and steamy circus-like show certain to captivate you. Showtimes vary by day. Tickets start at $44. Located at the Great Star Theater at 636 Jackson St.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
15 hours ago
- NBC News
Vampires, romance and billionaires: The bite-size Chinese shows gaining U.S. fans
HONG KONG — As U.S. television series produce longer and fewer episodes, a new genre from China is gaining American fans by going in the opposite direction. Known as minidramas, micro dramas or vertical dramas, they are soap operas condensed into a minute or two per episode. Each show, reminiscent of a telenovela, is split into dozens of chapters, each about two minutes long and with all the soapy elements: cheesy romance, over-the-top drama and abundant cliff-hangers. 'The revenge ones, oh, my God, they're so good,' California-based retail business owner Jacarius Murphy told NBC News in a video interview. Murphy is a fan of the minidramas, known as duanju in Chinese, which focus heavily on romance, revenge and fantasy. The stories tend to involve wealthy characters such as a chief executive who's secretly a vampire or a billionaire living a double life — characters often played by American actors. 'People want this fast dopamine hit, and they can snack on it while they're waiting,' said Anina Net, an American actress based in Los Angeles who has worked on minidramas for the past four years. The genre originated in China, where production companies have tapped into the popularity of short-form, vertical-produced, TikTok-style video content. About half of China's 1.4 billion people consume dramas in this style, according to a report released in March by the state-owned China Netcasting Services Association. The industry made $6.9 billion in revenue last year, more than China's total box office sales. The shows are 'still quite limited in genre, mostly romance-focused, with sweet, domineering CEO tropes and modern settings,' said Kaidi Dai, a Shanghai-based minidrama producer. Now, having figured out the Chinese market, the same companies are expanding into the U.S., where minidramas are finding success just a few years after the failure of Quibi, a short-lived, short-form mobile streaming service. The shows are available on platforms such as ReelShort, DramaBox and GoodShort, which offers free episodes and in-app purchases as well as subscriptions. Minidramas cost far less to make than standard TV shows and can make millions of dollars in revenue through a combination of user purchases and advertising. But adapting them to the U.S. market takes some tweaking, said Chinese filmmaker Gao Feng, also known as Frank Tian, who has a minidrama production company based in New York. Rather than remaking Chinese shows, his company hired longtime U.S. residents to craft stories that would appeal to American audiences. 'I believe that scripts determine 65-70% of a project's success,' he said in an interview. 'Apart from werewolves, CEO romances and hidden identities, we should explore new genres.' While many short dramas have been based on successful Chinese stories, 'if a platform cannot innovate continuously, it will face significant challenges,' he added. Among the most popular shows is 'The Double Life of My Billionaire Husband,' which tells the story of a woman whose husband is better off financially than he appears. All 60 episodes can be viewed in less than 70 minutes on ReelShort, the California-based, Chinese-backed minidrama platform that released it in 2023. 'Hilariously bad, oddly addictive,' reads one IMDb review of the show, which had more than 485 million views on ReelShort as of Friday. The Chinese-backed short-video app has vied with TikTok as the most popular product in the entertainment section of Apple's U.S. app store. 'The short videos on TikTok have laid a solid foundation for the popularity of short dramas,' Yan Min, who helped organize an industry conference in China last year, said in an interview. Min said ReelShort and other companies were advertising on platforms such as YouTube and TikTok to attract new users, catering to the 'evolving viewing habits of younger generations, who have grown up with platforms like TikTok and are accustomed to short, engaging content.' U.S. entertainment companies have taken notice of the trend. Netflix said in May that it was testing a vertical feed made up of clips from its shows and movies, while Disney said last month that it was investing in DramaBox through its accelerator program. Though minidramas seeking U.S. audiences are increasingly using actors with American backgrounds, they often shoot in scenic Chinese locations like the coastal city of Qingdao, with its Western-style villas and architecture, for greater authenticity. 'We seek actors and screenwriters who grew up in the U.S. and naturally embody an American style. Then we incorporate some Chinese elements,' said Ann An, a Beijing-based freelance producer for several minidramas made for foreign audiences. Turnarounds are incredibly fast in the industry as producers strive to keep costs low. An said a show can finish filming in 10 days, with a budget of under $70,000. The biggest key to the success of minidramas, though, is the cliff-hangers, which push viewers to keep paying for the next episode. 'The scriptwriters know exactly where to place these cliff-hangers, and they execute them very well,' said Apple Yang, a minidrama director based in London. That helps explain the appeal of minidramas even if their overall quality is sometimes 'underwhelming,' said Ying Zhu, a professor at Hong Kong Baptist University's Academy of Film. 'Make the dialogue real and less mechanic. Make it funny when possible and biting when needed,' Zhu said. 'One minute can pack in a lot of info if done well.'
16 hours ago
Pakistan will not restrict mountaineering expeditions despite the recent deaths of climbers
PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Pakistan has issued no warnings or restrictions for mountaineering expeditions in the north, an official said Sunday, despite the recent deaths of climbers. Climbers were well aware of the harsh weather and all the other risks and challenges, said Faizullah Faraq, a spokesman for the government of Gilgit-Baltistan, the northern region home to some of the world's highest mountains. 'Despite that, they willingly accept these challenges and come here to attempt these summits.' Chinese climber Guan Jing, 37, was the latest person to perish on one of Pakistan's mountains. She died last Tuesday after being hit by falling rocks on K2, the world's second-highest peak known for its treacherous slopes and extreme weather conditions. Rescue teams recovered her body on Saturday. Her body was still in the mortuary of the Combined Military Hospital in Skardu on Sunday. Contact has been made with Chinese authorities in Islamabad, and 'now it is up to them to make further decisions in this regard,' said Faraq. Jing's death occurred several weeks after German mountaineer and Olympic gold medalist Laura Dahlmeier died while attempting Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountain range. Bodies of foreign climbers who die attempting to summit mountains in Pakistan are typically recovered at the request of their families. But if the family declines a rescue, the remains are left at the spot where the climber died. Faraq said authorities were trying to provide climbers with better infrastructure, rescue facilities, security and a friendly environment. Mountaineering expeditions are the backbone of the local economy, bringing in millions of dollars in direct revenue. A large number of people work on these expeditions from May to September, feeding their families for the whole year with these earnings, he added. Hundreds of climbers try to scale mountains in northern Pakistan every year. two Russians spent six days stranded on a remote peak before they were rescued.
San Francisco Chronicle
16 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Pakistan will not restrict mountaineering expeditions despite the recent deaths of climbers
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistan has issued no warnings or restrictions for mountaineering expeditions in the north, an official said Sunday, despite the recent deaths of climbers. Climbers were well aware of the harsh weather and all the other risks and challenges, said Faizullah Faraq, a spokesman for the government of Gilgit-Baltistan, the northern region home to some of the world's highest mountains. 'Despite that, they willingly accept these challenges and come here to attempt these summits.' Chinese climber Guan Jing, 37, was the latest person to perish on one of Pakistan's mountains. She died last Tuesday after being hit by falling rocks on K2, the world's second-highest peak known for its treacherous slopes and extreme weather conditions. Rescue teams recovered her body on Saturday. Her body was still in the mortuary of the Combined Military Hospital in Skardu on Sunday. Contact has been made with Chinese authorities in Islamabad, and 'now it is up to them to make further decisions in this regard,' said Faraq. Jing's death occurred several weeks after German mountaineer and Olympic gold medalist Laura Dahlmeier died while attempting Laila Peak in the Karakoram mountain range. Bodies of foreign climbers who die attempting to summit mountains in Pakistan are typically recovered at the request of their families. But if the family declines a rescue, the remains are left at the spot where the climber died. Faraq said authorities were trying to provide climbers with better infrastructure, rescue facilities, security and a friendly environment. Mountaineering expeditions are the backbone of the local economy, bringing in millions of dollars in direct revenue. A large number of people work on these expeditions from May to September, feeding their families for the whole year with these earnings, he added. Hundreds of climbers try to scale mountains in northern Pakistan every year. Accidents are common because of avalanches and sudden weather changes. Last August, two Russians spent six days stranded on a remote peak before they were rescued. Gilgit-Baltistan, in Kashmir, has been battered by higher-than-normal monsoon rains this year, triggering flash floods and landslides.
